PSE Audio Panel thoughts..

hkyplr18

hkyplr18

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Joe
I'm about to have a new PS Engineering audio panel installed in my Super Viking and wanted to get some thoughts on which way to go. I want to stick with one of these options below. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

8000BT
450A
8000G
 
Well, since the 450A is top of the line, if you can afford it. Do it.


I have a 450A and love it. Plus, the owner of PSE is an active member on Beechtalk. Almost instant support if you need it. Trek groom Garmin is there too, but my money went to PSA. It's a great company and piece of equipment.
 
I think the 8000G has all the IntelliAudio features in it now, so aside from the LCD screen, is there a functionality advantage to the 450?

I love the 8000BT, but if the G is not much more expensive i'd go for it. I like the idea of being able to record and trigger custom audio alerts
 
CMongoose said:
I think the 8000G has all the IntelliAudio features in it now, so aside from the LCD screen, is there a functionality advantage to the 450? [...]
Click to expand...

I looked at the 8000BTi and the 450A at Oshkosh. Firstly, IntelliAudio is a truly amazing feature!
Regarding the differences, the main feature which stuck out for me, was that the 450A allows to set the muting behavior independently for the pilot and co-pilot. For my wife and me, this is a very useful feature: We could for one of us leave the music unmuted, while muting it for the other person who does the radio work, when a transmission is being received.
 
Can't go wrong with any of them, but the "copilot acts as a passenger" is a great feature and not available on all of them.

It looks like they are all "plug & play" for the GMA340 so in theory any of them would work in any airplane wired for a Garmin GMA340, PS Engineering 8000BT, 8000BTi, 8000G, PMA450A.

(Specific optional functions may require wiring that may differ from other models)
 
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That all being said, I have a 8000BT, I will never have an ADF installed in the airplane but that button will always be there. Really the 8000G or PMA450(A)would look better in my case IMHO.

The BTi also has a dedicated "ADF" button.



 
I replaced our GMA 340 with the PSE 450A. It's a great unit and has a built in USB charger in the front which is a nice added benefit.
 
Glen R said:
I replaced our GMA 340 with the PSE 450A. It's a great unit and has a built in USB charger in the front which is a nice added benefit.
Click to expand...

I bet the USB outlet makes ZERO noise too, unlike the cheapo cigarette lighter to USB things.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. Now I just to figure out if the 450A is worth the extra $500 over a BTi. I really really like the idea of having a usb charging port
 
hkyplr18 said:
Thanks for the replies guys. Now I just to figure out if the 450A is worth the extra $500 over a BTi. I really really like the idea of having a usb charging port
Click to expand...
Hope you don't mind me chiming in here but I thought a little insight might be helpful.

Since August 8th when the PMA8000G began shipping, we haven't sold a single PMA8000BTi. We will still sell it if a customer wants it, but the additional $150 (MAP) for the PMA8000G, IMHO, is a small price to pay when you consider the more intuitive operation, flightmate (R), USB charger, and the better looking front panel.

Then......if you look at the additional $350 for the PMA450A, well you might understand why it is our #1 seller. The OLED provides the pilot a user interface that you will rarely ever have to refer to the Pilot's Guide. The USB-C provides an additional 5 watts over the USB charger in the PMA8000G.

But in any case, you will always get the best price/performance when getting a PS Engineering audio panel, that is exactly why we make the number of different audio panels that we do, not one audio panel fits all missions!

Note: the PMA8000G does not have Copilot as PAX.

I'd be glad to answer any questions you might have.

Thank You,
Mark Scheuer
PS Engineering, Inc.
 
Mark, thank you for the reply! It is awesome to know that you frequent the message boards here and provide support. That solidifies my decision to purchase a PSE product. I wonder if Garmin folks even know this board exists! Anyways, OK thanks for the input so now I need to figure out if I need to go with the G or 450A.

Thanks!

mscheuer said:
Hope you don't mind me chiming in here but I thought a little insight might be helpful.

Since August 8th when the PMA8000G began shipping, we haven't sold a single PMA8000BTi. We will still sell it if a customer wants it, but the additional $150 (MAP) for the PMA8000G, IMHO, is a small price to pay when you consider the more intuitive operation, flightmate (R), USB charger, and the better looking front panel.

Then......if you look at the additional $350 for the PMA450A, well you might understand why it is our #1 seller. The OLED provides the pilot a user interface that you will rarely ever have to refer to the Pilot's Guide. The USB-C provides an additional 5 watts over the USB charger in the PMA8000G.

But in any case, you will always get the best price/performance when getting a PS Engineering audio panel, that is exactly why we make the number of different audio panels that we do, not one audio panel fits all missions!

Note: the PMA8000G does not have Copilot as PAX.

I'd be glad to answer any questions you might have.

Thank You,
Mark Scheuer
PS Engineering, Inc.
Click to expand...
 
I've had a couple PSE audio panels and they are great! I think the cost between the lower end and the higher end units is almost immaterial, the installation is the basically the same, so get the one you want!
 
hkyplr18 said:
Thanks for the replies guys. Now I just to figure out if the 450A is worth the extra $500 over a BTi. I really really like the idea of having a usb charging port
Click to expand...


If you are near the east coast and want to mess with mine, c'mon down to coastal GA.
 
The club's Skylane has the PMA450 in it. Big improvement over the old King one that was there. Like others have said, PSE's level of customer service is one of the best there is.
 
weirdjim said:
Mark ...

Good to see you again. You've come a long way, fellow. :cheerswine:

Jim
Click to expand...
Thanks Jim: Coming from you, this means a lot.
Amazing 31 years has already past, good news is that we have an excellent "young" team and we are all having a great time.
Mark
 
mscheuer said:
Thanks Jim: Coming from you, this means a lot.
Amazing 31 years has already past, good news is that we have an excellent "young" team and we are all having a great time.
Mark
Click to expand...
Yes, amazing how we remember things. It was 1973 (that's easy, 73 is the old telegrapher's code for "best wishes") and Thanksgiving Day after a full tummy of turkey and perhaps just half a glass too much of Old Rammycackle when we decided to launch RST. The drill was that we'd have our first product on the market by New Year's Day (I finished the design Christmas eve) and that she'd quit her job when we got to $1K a month in sales, which we hit in March. Don't giggle, $1K in 1974 was a lot of money. Then I'd quit and we go full time when we got to $2K a month, which we did in June. I quit, and in July we did $11.50 in sales and we both thought we'd done something really stupid. But that was just a glitch and the curve kept pretty much a monotonic line up for a few years.

Boy does THAT bring back memories of 43 years ago!! :cheers:

Jim
 
hkyplr18 said:
Mark, thank you for the reply! It is awesome to know that you frequent the message boards here and provide support. That solidifies my decision to purchase a PSE product. I wonder if Garmin folks even know this board exists! Anyways, OK thanks for the input so now I need to figure out if I need to go with the G or 450A.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

So which one did you decide on? And what were factors that tipped it to that outcome?
 
And I over the years bought RST stuff under various call signs and for our radio club. Best bang for the buck.
Nice knowing some of us old telegraphers are still around.

73
denny - K8DO
 
another happy 8000BT user here.....it just works great. The new features would be great, but I'm able get by without blue tooth, USB charging, or any of the wonderful new features.
 
I have two of the three mentioned and I really like them. When I upgraded the panel in the bonanza, I had the 450 installed and put the 8000BT one in my 172. I am not using its features except the usb port to run the fans for the iPad while I am still learning how to use the Aspen and the GTN.
 
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